Becoming A More Critical, Autonomous, Reflective Learner

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PRILHE Project - Lecturer’s Toolkit The following section provides one example of an induction scheme used in one UK university The induction process for part-time students at the University of Warwick, UK university: • Wednesday before the new academic year starts –a session on formal administrative processes such as enrolling, payment of fees and getting their university cards and information about student finance. It also provides the opportunity for students to talk to academic staff about module choices and structure of the degree and also to have a tour of the Learning Grid (a centre with learning facilities for students). • Saturday before term starts – this day includes sessions on study skills, introduction to IT services, making changes, introduction to the library and the Students’ Union. • Saturday week 2 of term time – an IT session • Saturday week 3 – a study skills session (Strategies for Successful Study) including time management, reading and note taking skills, preparing and writing essays and projects, and accelerated learning techniques. The University of Warwick also has an on-line induction programme for all new students - see http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/dll/skills/induction/ 22 Becoming A More Critical, Autonomous, Reflective Learner
PRILHE Project - Lecturer’s Toolkit 3.2 Mentoring Mentoring is now used in a wide range of contexts such as the workplace, in the community and educational institutions. Mentoring involves two people in a partnership relationship whereby a mentee is helped, guided and supported by a mentor to develop their academic skills and knowledge and self-confidence as a learner. However, the mentor also gains self-development and new skills. For both mentor and mentee it is a process which encourages reflection. In higher education this may involve staffto-student or student-to-student mentoring. Sometimes mentors can receive payment or other incentives but most mentoring is still carried out in a voluntary capacity. Many adult students value the student-to-student mentoring approach as it is comforting to hear about the experiences of learning and being a student from the perspective of a peer who has gone through the experience. It is important in mentoring scheme to have clear guidelines and boundaries about the mentoring process and the roles of the mentor and mentee. A good mentoring scheme, particularly when it is peer to peer, helps non-traditional adult students to become more confident and independent in their learning. Example The Part-time and 2+2 Degrees office at the University of Warwick has produced a handbook for their adult students about the mentoring scheme. The mentoring system is interpreted as more of a ‘befriending and information providing scheme’ in which ‘the role of our student mentors is to offer advice and information based on their experience of studying at Warwick and to be a friendly face around campus’. The mentors can be either current students or students who have graduated in the last three years. All mentors have to attend a training session on mentoring. Unlike most mentoring schemes where one mentor works with one individual, the mentors at Warwick work in pairs with a small group (two to six) of first year students. The mentor makes the first contact with the mentees (see over page for details and guidelines). Mentoring can also be developed more informally: It’s like there’s study buddying going on all the time. They seem to sort of end up in little groups where they’re supporting each other. Within weeks they’ve usually set up an email circle and they talk to each other all the time. So there’s a lot of support going on – they’ve got a network – hugely supportive of each other. We’ve found that quite a lot of third years give small tutorials to first years to help them through an essay if they get stuck or whatever. (Lecturer, UK) Becoming A More Critical, Autonomous, Reflective Learner 23
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Becoming A More Critical, Autonomous, Reflective Learner

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